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Photos courtesy of Eric Ryback
The Bracket Clock, below, was installed at the Deposit and Savings Bank in Kingston in 1911. According to a newspaper article, the clock was the largest one in the Wyoming Valley.

Surrounded by antique sewing machines and hidden for decades, a rare clock sat cloistered in a cramped and dark garage. A clock so unusual most people have never seen one. The owner, a reclusive elderly man, purchased the piece on a lark from a southeastern Pennsylvania roadside auction in the early 1980s. Years later, when the man decided to trade it with a watch repairman as payment for work, he showed little regard for the timepiece's uniqueness. When the repairman tried to explain its value, the man, who reminded the younger of the infamous recluse Howard Hughes, waved him away telling him to take the piece with him.

In winter 2012, St. Louis, Mo., resident Eric Ryback traveled to Madison, Wis., to visit with his brother-in-law, Dave Gunderson. Gunderson is a master cabinet maker and a timepiece hobbyist. Gunderson introduced Ryback to the world of horology, the art or science of measuring time.

"He introduced me to Tower Clocks and Street Clocks while visiting over Christmas by showing me his recent restoration of a large E. Howard No. 2 Tower clock movement. I was completely taken in by the piece," said Ryback.

The clock movement was made by the E. Howard Watch & Clock Company of Massachusetts, which was famous for high quality time pieces. Clock movements, the mechanical parts of the clock which allow it to keep time, were designed for very large clock dials measuring 7 to 8 feet in diameter. The mechanisms were also strong enough to support 3,000 pound bells.

Ryback, a retired investment adviser and father of three, began collecting on his own, starting with much smaller street clock movements.

Soon after joining the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Ryback came across a message board posting by a fellow collector while researching the various ways a particular clock movement, the Seth Thomas No. 4, were usually displayed.

"He posted photos of this movement in a beautiful wooden case. Responses went crazy because no one had ever seen anything like it before," said Ryback.

Clock movements like the Seth Thomas No. 4 were rarely, if ever, shown to the public. This mechanism was specifically designed to be on display. The clock's owner, known only as George, related a story to Ryback detailing his purchase from the previous owner.

"George told me the previous owner put it in his garage where it sat until he removed it. He had wound it once to see if it worked and that was the last time it saw the light of day till George came along," said Ryback.

Eventually, Ryback found a record of the clock's purchase by the original owner Deposit and Savings Bank of Kingston.

The first bank in the borough of Kingston, the Deposit and Savings Bank was located on the corner of Market Street and Page Avenue where the Kingston Gardens Apartment Building now stands.

The clock was installed in the autumn of 1911 among much praise from the public.

"A large clock, five feet across the face, was received by the Deposit and Savings Bank yesterday and is being placed in position across the sidewalk in front of the bank," a Wilkes-Barre Record newspaper item reads.

According to the article, the clock was illuminated at night and was a "great convenience to the public." It was also the largest clock in the Wyoming Valley.

Ryback, interested in recreating the clock movement, contacted the person who posted the photos only to find out he had sold it to Jerry Westlick in Ohio.

"I contacted Jerry in early February 2013 and asked if I could come to take measurements of the case. To my surprise and delight he said I could. Within a few weeks, I drove to Jerry's home and spent the better part of an afternoon taking measurement and photos," said Ryback.

Westlick, the current owner of the clock movement, was just as impressed with the photos as Ryback.

"I'm tenacious. I knew I wanted that piece. I knew it was rare and it was worth something. I hounded the crap out of George," said Westlick.

Westlick welcomed Ryback into his home where he (Ryback) spent hours meticulously taking measurements in a painstaking effort to recreate the clock which includes machining customized brass pulleys, cast iron brackets and weights.

Ryback is still looking for more information about the clock movement's journey from Kingston to Harrisburg, where George bought it in 2012. The clock was located on the Deposit and Savings Bank in Kingston until at least 1926 when the bank moved to its Wyoming Avenue location. He hopes getting this story to the general public will stir someone's memories.

"It would be wonderful if the bracket clock was found, let alone just finding additional photos would be fantastic. It's kind of like treasure hunting. Life is mysterious and tends to reveal itself over time," said Ryback.

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